gdt 11/21 GDT: Hurricanes 3 at Red Wings 4

[Dabura 12,207]

I was just thinking that. If only Tatar had a great game, too, that'd be the ultimate finger in Holland's face. But I'm afraid Babcock will use his game as an excuse to waive him or some garbage like that.

Waive Tatar? Even Holland's not that wacko.

The thing with Nyquist-Tatar is, IMHO, Nyquist is this good right now largely because he was up with us in the playoffs and gained some great experience and confidence. Tatar can sit every now and then, fine - but experience (or a lack thereof) is the thing with him. That's what he needs more than anything else. Experience.

[pucktividi 472]

I honestly think if anyone would have been better served in GR this season, it's Tatar. Not saying that he SHOULD have been in GR, I'm just saying Nyquist was wasting his time there. Tatar could at least play and get a bit bigger. That being said, I'd love to have them both with permanent spots on the team. Cleary and Sammy have gots to go. Period.

Why...?Maybe to get another Calder Cup MVP award

[wings87 1,290]

If the Wings can get that second period under control I think we might see a streak coming.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

No GM is perfect, but imperfection does not equal incompetence, and you far too easily focus on his bad decisions to the exclusion of his good decisions.

Answer the question.

I already did. There isn't one in the last 15.

Last 5, however, I can give you a few names, and that's more important when judging the present. Let's be honest, even Mike Milbury couldn't screw up the Wings 15 years ago, with that talent level, salary and scouting staff.

I'm concentrating on Holland's bad moves because that's what the majority of them have been in recent memory. I'm not going to give him immunity just because 10 years ago this team was finishing first every year.

[DatsyukToZetterberg 128]

Ah yes that's right, I heard monster got the start. Was he pretty solid?

He was OK, I guess. Had his usual tact of looking shaky while still making the save.

[wings_fanatic 677]

Not that Howard has been the reason for us losing, but with Monster getting the win, I would like to see him start Saturday against the Sens. Keep rolling the hot hand and create some competition.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

It's crazy that after tonight, they're only 3 points behind Boston for 1st in the division.

[SimonSin 192]

Man! Wings do know how to make it interesting this year. Giving up that 3rd goal ticked me off. Oh well, Canes goalie stood on his head tonight. Still some sloppy play. The tough forechecks seem to really frustrate them. I'm still bummed out about Dekeyser being out for a while. I really think the Red Wings can turn this thing around when they're 100% healthy. Even with the losing streak we have 27 points. Only 3 behind Boston with the Bruins having a game in hand. Hopefully they can get some kind of win streak going.

[VM1138 1,921]

Wasnt able to watch tonight due to work. How did the team look? Howie? and better yet....Nyquist? True he scored in the first 20 seconds? If so...eat that holland...not a kids game pffff.

In short: they played decent. A little sloppy. They shot nearly 50 shots, and they had a lot more dangerous chances than usual, but I wouldn't say they played a great game overall. Decent, but not great.

Nyquist, however, was magical. Two goals and he was on the ice for a third, I believe. Energy was high in the arena, and Nyquist was all smiles. Team seems to really enjoy his enjoyment of the spotlight. He looked very poised and confident. I don't recall any mistakes.

Tatar, on the other hand, played a good game but made a crucial mistake at the end that led to a goal, though one of our posters speculates it was due to exhaustion more than to a rookie brainfart.

So in all, a memorable game because of Nyquist, but the rest was sort of average.

On the plus side, we're scoring again!

EDIT: We have an effective second line now. Franzen looked good, too. Defense chipped in with assists like in the old days. But now we don't have a first line because Cleary was up there. It was basically the Datsyuk show but he couldn't get enough going by himself.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

Not that Howard has been the reason for us losing, but with Monster getting the win, I would like to see him start Saturday against the Sens. Keep rolling the hot hand and create some competition.

Just because the team won doesn't mean Goof is playing hot with his .889 save% tonight.

Edited November 22, 2013 by dropkickshanahans

[Guest Crymson]

Here's my first summary in awhile. I've been away.

Best Forward: Gustav Nyquist. This kid is money. He's one of those rare players who can use their small size to their actual advantage rather than allowing to be a drawback; he's good at getting into the small spaces of the ice. Honorable mention: the Euro Twins, who both performed very well (because they're a unit, I can list them as one, right?).

Worst Forward: Dan Cleary. Who else? I can only hope that he was given time with Datsyuk as an absolute last chance. Whatever the case, Babcock didn't seem pleased; Cleary was 8th amongst forwards in ice time. Rightly so, as he is absolute, gasping death to the offensive-zone cycle. Honorable mention: Nobody in particular; Tatar had that unfortunate giveaway in the final 30 seconds, but while the result was likely irksome for Gustavsson, it did not affect the outcome of the game.

Best Defenseman: Niklas Kronwall. Not much to say here; he had a solid but unspectacular game. Honorable mention: Jonathan Ericsson, for the same reason.

Worst Defenseman: Kyle Quincey. All told, this guy has been worse than anyone on the planet could possibly have anticipated. Honorable mention: Brian Lashoff, for having a weak immune system. ( )

MVP: Gustav Nyquist, who showed once again why he's an NHL-caliber player. He performed extremely well on what turned out to be the 1st line.

Goat: Dan Cleary. Quincey sucks, but he's a necessary evil right now. Cleary sucks, and he's not. This team needs scoring, and Cleary's presence actively hinders that; meanwhile, he brings absolutely nothing to the defensive of the game, cannot grind, cannot play an energetic game of any sort, and cannot even skate or shoot the puck effectively, making him positively worse than useless. If one had a vehicle that were unable to perform even the basic duties of locomotion, then it would be either repaired or consigned to the scrap heap. Cleary is uanble to perform the basic duties of hockey, and, as is evident by the utter failure of his knee surgeries to improve his performance, he cannot be repaired. He's given a lot to this team in the past, but he really, truly needs to go now.

Overall Grade: B. Offense was quite good, with 47 shots, though this can in part be attributed to poor play by the Hurricanes. Defense was decent. Play was sloppy at many points. In many ways, this is a team still searching for its identity. They'll get there, but this kind of effort won't be good enough to beat the league's upper-echelon teams. That said, the injuries to Alfredsson and DeKeyser really do not help.

Observations:

• The line assignations ended up ass-backwards. The 2nd line was the 1st line in terms of icetime and gameplay. The 1st line was the 3rd line in terms of both, and the 3rd line was the 2nd line. I can't help but blame this on Dan Cleary. I may even be right. Whatever the case, it's baffling. We'll see it explained by whatever the line combinations are next game.
• Franzen is playing quite well since his return. He's working hard in the offensive zone and creating chances, and his play in the defensive zone isn't half bad. I do wish he'd shoot more, though; he seems to waffle back and forth whenever he's got a chance to do so, and often opts to pass instead.

I'm going to stop here, as I'm on a computer that is so much worse than merely terrible; I'm constantly concerned that this browser will crash (thus deleting this entire post), as it can barely handle forum-going. G'nite, all.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Crymson

[joesuffP 1,746]

What a brutal game by Tatar though. He's been pretty bad these last few games

[VM1138 1,921]

I wouldn't say he was brutal. He looked worse because Nyquist looked so good, but you take out that bad turnover at the end and he had a decent game. The good news is, maybe he and Nyquist will get a competition going and they'll push each other to be better than the other. It's going to be fun to watch them develop together at the NHL level.

[Dabura 12,207]

So, I was thinking. If we take Nyquist out of this game, that puts us back two goals. I know it doesn't really work that way, but shut up. Anyway, that means we score two, they score two (throwing that last garbage goal out the window), and...we go to overtime. Again. And you KNOW we lose, whether in the five mins. or the shootout.

All of which is to say: Nyquist makes us better. Not in a Cleary way (which isn't even a real thing, just a Babcockian invention), but a legitimate wow-that-guy-looks-good-out-there and wow-that-guy-scored-two-goals-for-us way.

This game was a clean, clear measure of his importance to this team. He's not just some middling bottom sixer, a kid in a Man's League. He can be an impact player in the top six right now, no waiting period, no adjustment, just keep him rolling with good linemates.

He is what Holland seems hesitant to call him: a real difference-maker.

[joesuffP 1,746]

Tatar was turning the puck over in all zones of the ice. Great 2 games by Smith though : ).... Kindl ehhh

If Nyquist can hussle and back check like that every night he deserves a spot in the top 6. Tatar I don't think is ready

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

Just because the team won doesn't mean Goof is playing hot with his .889 save% tonight.

Agreed. Honestly Monster wasnt that impressive tonight. Luckily he didnt face many chances. He still is kicking out way to many "Monster" rebounds.

[Danielsm 244]

Nyquist's second goal:

http://video.redwings.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=491124

[RedWingsRox 614]

Finally a W ... !!

[Dabura 12,207]

It just occurred to me: we have a second line now!!!

[RedWang 422]

Im pulling this from the lines thread so people will actually read it...

Per Nyquistfan14:

Why not leave pav and z split and go with something like this...

Weiss-pav-alfy

Goose-z-mule

Abby-helm-Tatar

Bert-Andy-miller

To which i replied.

That should be a very good offense

Uknow, i havent thought of this either...come to think of it, its absolutely perfect! Think about it, Weiss needs to get his mojo going, his scoring touch if you will. Now what better way to get a guy producing than with arguably 2 of the best setup men in the league, in NHL history?

Now the second line will FORCE mule to play better just to keep up with Z, and a ROOKIE. Talk about lighting a fire under a guy. I expect that line to roll like weve only seen from ZDB line this season, possibly better.

3rd line, No problem, Abby-helm-tatar is such a solid and classic line combo. Grinder/skater/scorer, potentially modernizing the days of gold Grind Line, with less toughness and slightly more skill.

4th line, Miller-Andy/preferably Glendening-Bert, who will add alot to our 4th line, all the while playing where a player of his age and physical satus should be playing.

The real question is wether or not Babs will let them play together for more than one game and let them build some chemistry. He also must, pull his head out of his ass and remove Cleary from this team.

But all in all, if we can stay healthy that is one damn fine lineup.

[RedWingsRox 614]

Just checked boxscore ... we let them score shorthanded with 16 seconds left ??

Those of you who were watching ... were you shooting bricks?

[wings_fanatic 677]

I agree, I would keep the 2nd line together until they cool off. But once they do, I would like to see Pavs and Hank reunited, they were just playing so well together and now with Nyquist up we can spread the offense well (when Alfie and Weiss are back)

Zetty- Pavs- Bert

Franzen- Weiss- Alfie

Nyquist-Helm-Tatar

Miller-Anderson- Abby

[Dabura 12,207]

I love this pic. The Hurricane guy is the eye of the Swedish National Team Dance Party Storm.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Dabura

[RedWang 422]

I love this pic. The Hurricane guy is the eye of the Swedish National Team Dance Party Storm.

Pure comedic gold. Someone immortalize the image and caption together into a meme please. "Swedish National Team Dance Party". Edited November 22, 2013 by RedWang

[St. Michael (the Red Wing) 422]

Missed this game but YAY a win in regulation!!!

And GOOSE BABY GOOSE!!!